Moiraine's Search
by Alfie949
Summary: set 10 years before Moiraine finds Rand. Suian is the new Amyrlin, the Reds are acting strangely, and Elaida has given a Foretelling that could ruin everything. Black Ajah, 8 year old Elayne, and tantalizing spoilers to come.
1. Prophecy Found

Disclaimer: Robert Jordan owns the Wheel of Time and all the characters. I own nothing, and make no money from this. Basically, don't sue me, I'm just here having fun. I did make up most of the prophecy though.  
  
Dedication: To my muse, Eres, long time friend and shopping buddy, whose posts determined whether this would go in the recycle bin, or on the web. I'm glad you chose the latter, Eres, and hopefully the reader will be glad to. You keep musing, and I'll keep writing.  
  
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Moiraine's Search  
  
Chapter 1 – Prophecy Found  
  
Stepping out of the newly-raised Amrylin's office, Moiraine sighed. Matching wills with her best friend Siuan Sanche was unpleasant, at best. Matching wills with Siuan Sanche, the Amrylin Seat, was...well, "unpleasant" was more than an understatement. She smoothed her blue skirts as she tried for a calm look, showing nothing but serenity on her face. If experienced Sisters were to give advice to new Sisters, the first warning she would give was "Do not shout to the Amrylin Seat that 'Maybe we'll be lucky to know where the Dragon Reborn is when the Reds bring him to Tar Valon in chains and they start asking questions about which one of us should be stilled first!'". Luckily, Moiraine didn't give advice, didn't really like to reveal anything about her actions at all, or she would find her life much worse than it already was. She did not want that secret getting out.  
  
That Secret is the problem, Moiraine thought, as Alvarain, a frosty White, brushed past her, impatient to see the new Amrylin. Suian and I have always been in this together, since before we were even Raised to the Blue. Since we learned that a boy child had been born on the slopes of Dragonmount. A child of prophecy. Of doom, perhaps. Moiraine shuddered as she gracefully made her way through the wide marble halls, finer than any palace in the world. Thoughts like that still scared her. Now that child was growing up, each day bringing him closer to the time he would inevitably touch the True Source, whether they found him or not. But now I must find him alone, with Siuan mired in the bureaucracy of the Tower. Not alone, she reminded herself. Lan would always stand beside her, up to the Last Battle if need be. She could feel him, probably in the practice yard, concentrating deeply. Practicing the sword, then. As if he needed to.  
  
He had stayed by her when they made what seemed their fiftieth trip to the Borderlands, only to scratch another name off in the little book she carried. That book still held thousands of names, any one a possibility. That was the reason Siuan was so angry, but there was nothing to be done besides carry on...and hope. She felt confidant Lan would stay with her to the end.  
  
A novice ran past Moiraine, jolting her out of her reverie. Moiraine sighed for the second time that day. The girl wasn't strong enough. She would be put out before she even had a chance to try for Accepted. There are so few. So few of us. Will there be enough to survive what is coming? She feared that the answer was no.  
  
Moiraine realized that she had been walking to the library, a place she liked to go to compose her thoughts. She stepped through the wide open doors, nodding to the two Browns beside the door, watching who came in and out, like gargoyles protecting their precious citadel of knowledge.  
  
She continued her walk, through the main corridors, over the floor tiles in rows of color for each of the seven Ajahs. Her subconscious finally settling on a destination, she strode purposefully into the deeper into the library, to the Ninth Depository. Sighing inwardly, she wished a destination that would make Siuan happy could be as easily presented to her.  
  
After a few minutes, she was surprised when she reached the plain, polished door that led to shelves upon shelves of mathematics. Siuan had found this sanctuary, a wonderful place to be alone in the heavily used Library. Her friend liked puzzles, any puzzles, even the ones in this room involving X's and Y's that baffled Moiraine. Apparently, they baffled most everyone else too because Moiraine had never seen another sister here. Never. But one was pulling the door open just as Moiraine was reaching for the handle. As Moiraine attempted to mask her surprise, Liandrin stepped into the hallway. Oddly, the petulant, honey-haired Red was holding Saidar, and she seemed just as surprised to see Moiraine. Releasing the source, she stalked away quickly, before Moiraine got a chance to ask what she was doing.  
  
Curious, Moiraine thought, wondering what in the Light the woman would have considered interesting in here. Blues liked to be aware of what the Red was up to, to put it mildly. With such a deep hatred embedded within the two factions, it didn't pay to be caught off guard.  
  
Stepping inside, Moiraine looked around. Everything seemed exactly the same as she had seen it six months ago when she was here with Siuan. Servants hadn't even been in to sweep the dust from the floor, so few people came into this room. Moiraine moved to sit down at one of the tables, leaving a trail of footsteps in her wake as velvet slippers disturbed the dust. Realizing what was wrong, she stopped, looking behind her. Only one set of footprints appeared on the ground, and they were hers. Where were Liandrin's? Sisters did know weaves that would settle dust, but why would Liandrin bother to use one, unless she didn't want people to know she was here? Very interesting. Too much had happened in Moiraine's life for her to believe in chance.  
  
She would have to look into it later, though. As she sat down at one of the tables, she withdrew her small black book from her belt, opening it at random and putting her finger down. The name it landed on, Jonan Allaine, was followed by details of a boy in Andor. At the moment, she had no leads to set her course, to direct her to her prize. The best she could do would be to look over the list of names and try to associate a town, or at least a nation to narrow the search.  
  
Looking up from the impossible task, something caught Moiraine's eye. A book on a low shelf put in backwards, so that the spine did not face out. Another curious thing. Moiraine had never seen anything like it in the Library. One of the Browns would have righted it immediately.  
  
Leaving her futile task, Moiraine went over to investigate. The cover was plain black leather, much like the book she used to keep her precious list in. Opening it to the first page revealed the name "Elaida do Avriny a'Roihan" in flowery, pretentious handwriting. She scoffed, Only a fool would write her name in a private journal, and she would have to be as foolish as that Red to leave it lying around.  
  
She continued reading. Growing up in the swirls of the Game of Houses had taught her that any personal information learned about a person could be of use, and her time as Aes Sedai had only verified this teaching. Apparently, Elaida had been plotting her move to Andor, to become Morgase's advisor, for months. Thank the Light the woman had finally did it while I was away, Moiraine thought, thinking of how much she hated the woman. She was a liability, too. Who knows what secrets might be revealed with that woman's talent for Foretelling? Not as strong as Gitara Moroso, but strong enough. It's odd, though. I never would have believed she would bend her neck and obey, certainly not to a woman who could barely light a candle with the Power, even if she was a queen.  
  
After having flipped through the pages for a few minutes, Moiraine gasped. Name the Dark One. She took a deep breath and read the flowery, pretentious passage slowly to herself.  
  
"The Great Battle is lost, The Great Battle is won, Dark opposes Light. Which side loses? Which side wins? A lock upon that knowledge There might as well be. A lion wears a Crown of Roses, For victory, Andor is the key."  
  
It was exactly what she had feared. Oh, it wasn't enough to condemn Suian, or herself, or even reveal their search. But it could bring questions, and Aes Sedai found ways of getting answers. She knew that much from experience. The Reds might even start their own search. She wondered if she could claim foretelling as a Talent of her own now. Her shouts at Suian earlier might really come true.  
  
Trying to calm herself, she looked at the prophecy. She had been studying the Karaethon Cycle for years and knew that prophecy could easily be deceiving, especially concerning the Last Battle. In the margin, in a hand she recognized as Liandrin's, two lines were written:  
  
"House Trakand = silver keystone Morgase = three golden keys."  
  
So the Reds could know. The entire Red Ajah could know what was coming, and while they thought they were saving the world from some poor channeling fool, she and Suian would know the truth. The world would be doomed. If it already wasn't.  
  
She read the page again, and then spoke softly to herself among the tomes and dust.  
  
"Three golden keys. Three signs directing me to Andor. The Wheel of Time weaves, spinning the Age Lace so finely that a spider's gossamer silk is as the clumsiest wool. One can find a single thread within that Pattern, if only one knows how to look. And I must find the most important thread of all."  
  
Going back to the table, she gathered her things quickly along with Elaida's book and hurried from the room. She doubted if anyone would call this walk as graceful as earlier in the day, but there were times when grace and serenity were not what was important to her. Through the warder bond, she could easily find Lan. She had to get to Andor.  
  
To Be Continued  
  
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Please, please, please, please review! REVIEWERS are nice! No flames though, or I'll sick my muse on you. Trust me, if I promise her enough Mountain Dew, she can be viscious. 


	2. A Woman Just Missed

**Disclaimer:** Same as before.  
  
**Apology:** Please, please, anyone who was reading my story before, forgive me for taking so long to update. SAT's, AP exams, pre-finals, finals, projects, and just junior year in general got in my way, but I promise I'll be better. Sorry, sorry, sorry.  
  
**General Note:** If anyone knows how to make text in bold, italics, centered, or any other formatting type stuff show up on ff.net, I'd really appreciate the tips, just posted in a review. Thank You.  
  
**Thanx:**

Squilo Sedai: I'm glad you liked it. I wasn't really intending the Eye of the World in this story, but you might have inspired a sequel. Ooh, a sequel-prequel. It rhymes.  
  
Data: Thank you. I'm going to try to keep writing to the end of the story.  
  
CassSpaz: Just the kinda review I was hoping for. I hope this new chapter is as much to your liking.  
  
Tsukinorei: Thanx. Eres says thanx too. And you're right, Elaida became Advisor 3 years before NS took place. Sorry. I tried. Just pretend Elaida came back for a visit or something.  
  
Eres: What can I say to you Eres, my muse? Besides "Pleez don't hurt me"? Well, your inspirational presence/existence/trippy cards you get from that store probably helped in this story, but I also have to say that LOTR3, KOD, and my new shoes are truly responsible. You have to see the shoes. They're so pretty. AND LOTR. AND back away from my $3 Amazon KOD prequel. It's mine.

Moiraine's Search  
  
Chapter 2 – A Woman Just Missed  
  
The first rays of the sun painted the high stone walls a gleaming silver and gold. All along its length, proud, red banners snapped in the morning breeze, making the white lions upon them seem to be crouching and ready to spring. Towers could be seen behind the walls, ascending to the stars that were just now fading in the west, and beyond the towers, a domed palace, seated upon its hill, just as its queen might soon be seated upon her throne for the morning.  
  
Neither Moiraine nor Lan paid any notice to the grandeur displayed before them. They were far more concerned with keeping Mandarb and Starlight away from the merchants' wagons that were just beginning to clutter the road, impeding Moiraine's progress. Moiraine was eager to spur her mare forward, to reach the city she had been waiting for. She sighed in frustration, one of her most extravagant displays of emotion. _Caemlyn is so close I could reach out and touch it on the horizon with my hand. I have spent weeks of hard riding just to be sitting behind this merchant's load of cherries, while the world is at stake._ Lan, sensing her impatience, had to rein in his new warhorse, Mandarb, before the creature cut a path for his master, and consequently, his master's mistress. Moiraine had to admire their faithfulness.  
  
They reached the giant, arched gates, after what seemed like days to Moiraine. Lan would have said it had taken less than an hour. Carefully out of his Aes Sedai's hearing, of course. The guards at the gate waved them through, seeing only a slightly travel-stained lady and her bodyguard. Inside, the wide street, split down the middle with a divider of trees and grass, was filled with people, making it difficult for Moiraine to make any progress. Moving Starlight closer to Lan, she found she needed to weave a ward just to make herself heard over the noise of the crowd.  
  
"We are looking for an inn called The Grey Haven, in the Inner City. Sheriam recommended it to me based on her last trip here. The woman isn't an agent, but she has been found trustworthy nonetheless." It was funny. Moiraine hadn't thought that Sheriam liked those adventure stories. She herself preferred romances and historical novels.  
  
Within a few minutes of winding through the throngs of people, Moiraine and Lan reached the gates that opened onto the Inner City, with its broader streets and fewer crowds. It didn't take long for Lan to sight an inn with a grey ship facing the Aryth Ocean, grandly proclaiming itself The Grey Haven. Moiraine simply hoped that no Grey Sisters were there. Or any other Sisters, for that matter. _It takes only a single pigeon and the whole Tower would know where I am.  
_  
The inn seemed comfortable enough, with a good number of patrons sitting down to what smelled like a delicious breakfast. The rumble in Moiraine's stomach reminded her that she had forgone dinner last night to reach the city more quickly.  
  
"I am Mistress Bethani, my lady. May I be of service to you?" A voice from behind asked. Moiraine turned to see the innkeeper, a plump, graying- haired woman. Now Moiraine understood why her friend had said to come to this inn. The woman had a kind look in her eyes, reminding Moiraine of Sheriam herself. She took an instant liking to her.  
  
Lan answered, "I'm Master Andra, Mistress. Lady Alys and I require rooms for" with a slight pause he glanced at Moiraine out of the corner of his eye "at least a few days time. And some of whatever delicious food I smell from your kitchens. We have not yet eaten."  
  
"Of course, good master." And with that, the woman led them to a table in the back as serving maids came to collect their things and take them up to their rooms. Almost just as they sat down, Mistress Bethani was back with plates of hot omelets, sausages, fresh bread, and fruits in cream. Moiraine thought that it tasted better than it smelled. She had not felt this hungry since she was a Novice, she thought, and, with that, dug into her food enthusiastically.  
  
Moiraine could never forget why she was in Caemlyn, though. The Wheel was turning while she sat and enjoyed breakfast, each moment bringing the world closer to what was now inevitable. _There had not been enough time for the last ten years_, she recalled. As soon as she finished eating, she signaled the innkeeper to come over. Moiraine thought she could trust her just a little.  
  
"Mistress Bethani, I am looking for a friend of mine I lost touch with a few years back, and I believe she settled in Caemlyn after the Aiel War. Perhaps you would know of her, a Mistress Nicci Allaine, or maybe her son, Jonan, a boy of about ten?"  
  
Lan nearly choked on his food, seeing Moiraine be so bold. The Aes Sedai was watching the innkeeper's face, though. Her obliging smile had turned to an unhappy frown.  
  
"I'm sorry, my lady, but it seems you just missed finding who you're looking for. There was a dreadful fire a few months ago, and poor Jonan was trapped inside. Nicci couldn't stand it here after her son's death. She ran off and I haven't seen hide nor hair of her since."  
  
"I'm terribly sorry to hear it," Moiraine replied. She thought that was the end of the conversation, but the woman went on chatting. "It was just like how my daughter Kari ran off a good number of years ago with some man she said was from Illian. He didn't look like an Illianer to me. But they settled out West somewhere by the Mountains of Mist and I haven't heard from her in nearly five years...."  
  
The woman kept talking, but Moiraine had stopped listening after hearing about Jonan, making appropriate utterances now and again to make the woman think she was listening. _Could Jonan have been the one?_ Moiraine prayed he wasn't. She prayed everyday that the Pattern took care of its savior. Perhaps its destroyer as well. She had to put it out of her mind. _If Jonan was dead, then he couldn't be who she wanted_, she convinced herself. _One day, the Light was going to take pity on her and just drop his name into her lap, and she would find him and be overjoyed. But it was not this day, it seemed.  
_  
_One thing is done in Caemlyn,_ she thought, _if not how I would have it. Now I must know what the Red is up to. _By this time, Lan had finished eating his breakfast too, and she asked the innkeeper to show them up to their rooms. They should probably rest before trying to find out about Elaida.  
  
Lan, still mirroring the tense excitement she had felt, wanted to know what they would do now.  
  
"The Wheel will weave us all into its Pattern, Lan. We can only be patient and wait." With that, she went into her rooms, threw herself on the bed, and slept dreamlessly.  
  
POV SHIFT  
  
Larelle Tarsi (A/N: Nobody ever SAID this woman was dead, as far as I know. Moiraine just assumed. And you know what they say about assumed. Please correct me if I'm wrong.) hated waiting. Once, as a Novice, an Aes Sedai had caught her trying to go ahead in her lessons. The Sister had had the audacity to forbid her from touching the Power for a month! She had wanted to play a trick on the Aes Sedai to make Her never touch the Power again—or anything else for that matter—but Galina had intervened for the time being. Galina claimed that death was not a becoming practice for one so young—she still didn't know how she had found the patience to wait 12 years.  
  
And here she was waiting now, across from some inn that that Blue had gone in, ready to report. She didn't see why Liandrin didn't have to wait out here. But she was under the orders of Liandrin, who was under the orders of Galina, who was under the orders of...someone higher. _Who could be higher than the head of the Supreme Council of the Black Ajah? _She shuddered at the thought, and decided that waiting had its good side.  
  
Nevertheless, she still couldn't figure out what the Black Ajah wanted with those two little brats—and royalty did not go quietly into the night, making her job difficult. Sisters were also hard to make disappear. And now she had two of them to deal with, and one had a warder. A very impressive warder. A hundred years earlier, she would have asked the Light why her life could not be easy. Now, it would not hear her prayers. She just had to keep telling herself that she Definitely did not want to fail. She scurried off to tell Liandrin that her letter could be delivered now.  
  
POV SHIFT  
  
Moiraine woke to Lan's knocking on her door. She got up to let him in and saw that he held a letter in his hands. He handed it to her wordlessly. Sometimes she wondered if Lan knew everything. Before breaking the seal, Moiraine saw emblazoned in the red wax a silver keystone. It was addressed to "The Blue Lady at The Gray Haven Inn" in what Moiraine could now recognize as Elaida's flowery scrawl. Moiraine marveled that Elaida had the brains to know that she might be traveling under a pseudonym. She opened the letter and read silently:  
  
Moiraine Sedai  
  
On behalf of her majesty, Queen Morgase of Andor, you and your warder are invited to attend the festival of High Chasaline, tomorrow night, on the twelfth day of Taisham.  
  
Elaida do Avriny a'Roihan  
Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah  
Advisor to Queen Morgase of Andor  
oo{{REDS}};;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;  
  
Moiraine would have found it funny if it did not terrify her. The way Elaida pressed so hard as the word "warder", the paper tore. And the period at the end of the sentence was pressed so hard it made a giant ink splotch. Elaida certainly did not want to write this. But then why did she? Why would Elaida tell Morgase of her presence at all, let alone have her invited to this party? Moiraine had completely forgotten High Chasaline was tomorrow.  
  
"I told you all we had to do was wait Lan, and a way would be presented to us. I wanted to know what Elaida was doing and here she invites me with open arms. News flies faster than Cairhein here. Be on your guard." Moiraine almost wanted to faint news flew so fast. There was no time.  
  
**To Be Continued**  
  
Please, please, please, please review! REVIEWERS are nice! They make me happy. And I promise to update sooner.  
  
People got my symbolism and allusions, right? Starlight? The Grey Haven?  
  
My muse will torture any flamers, though, so no flames. She has two brothers, so she knows how to fight like a rabid wombat. 


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